How to Access Hidden Hard Drive Partition in Windows 10, 8, 7?
Don’t know how to access hidden hard drive partition? Refer to this article to get what is hidden partition and how to access it in Windows 10/8/7.
By AOMEI / Last Updated June 3, 2020
Scenario
“I have a 320GB HDD, there is a partition with no name which is nearly 10GB which I know had data and programs from clean install. Is it a hidden partition? How can I access it? All your advice or suggestions will be much appreciated and welcomed.”
What is hidden partitions on hard drive?
Sometimes, hidden partition referred to as the recovery partition and restore partition around 100 to 200M capacity, EFI System partition (ESP), or OEM partition. The hidden partition holds information about the system boot file and the disk boot sector, which could not be visible in Explorer so that the user unable to modify these system files in case of system failure. In other words, it is the part of the hard disk that is not displayed or used directly under normal conditions. This space may not be partitioned, it may be a format partition that the current system does not recognize, or a backup partition that can be hidden.
Need to access hidden hard drive partition
Hidden partitions are accessed either through a pre-installed Windows application or by pressing a specific key combination as the computer boots up. Sometimes you can see it in the “Disk Management” of “Administrative Tools”, generally it can’t get in. Some brand opportunities to make backups in hidden partitions, through hotkeys, etc., into the restore tool interface, to achieve the role of system restoration. If your computer did not come with a hidden partition or you have deleted it, the only way to restore your computer is with a Windows CD. However, a boot disc only installs Windows and no additional software or drivers. So, you need to see hidden hard drive partition in advance to make sure whether your computer has hidden partition or not.
How to access hidden partition on hard drive?
You may be puzzled about how to show hidden partition in Windows 7/8/10? Don’t be worry, here provides you two methods to unhide hidden partition on hard drive.
Method 1. Access hidden partitions with Disk Management
1. Press “Windows” + “R” to open the Run box, type “diskmgmt.msc” and press “Enter” key to open the Disk Management. Select the partition which you’ve hidden previously and right-click it by selecting Change Drive Letter and Path…
2. In the pop-up window, click “Add” to give a letter for this partition.
3. And then click “OK” to complete this operation.
Method 2. Access hidden partitions with third party software
Besides access hidden partitions via Disk Management, you can also use a third party software to do this operation. Compare with other software, here I highly recommend AOMEI Partition Assistant – a powerful disk partition software for Windows users, and fully supports Windows 10/8/7, Vista, XP. The function of Unhide Partition can help you to access hidden partitions easily. Free download it and refer to the specific steps are as follows:
Step 1. Lauch and run AOMEI Partition Assistant, right-click the hidden partition and select “Advanced” > “Unhide Partition”.
Step 2. In the pop-up Window, click “OK” to unhide the partition.
Step 3. After that, it will back to main interface, preview the changes and click “Apply” > “Proceed” to complete the operation.
Thus, you can access your hidden hard drive partition easily.
Conclusion
Follow these simple steps, you can easily and effectively solve the problem about how to access/show hidden hard drive partition. AOMEI Partition Assistant can be the best disk partition software, you can hide and unhide partitions with it easily and effectively. Besides unhide partition, it also has many other functions like resize/move/delete/format partition, migrate OS to SSD, disk copy, partition copy, repair MBR and so on. You can get more advanced functions, such as quick partition, partition recovery, etc.,
Show or hide updates для Windows 10
Разработчик:
Microsoft (США)
Лицензия:
Freeware (бесплатно)
Версия:
2018-10-16
Обновлено:
2019-07-09
Системы:
Windows 10 (все версии)
Интерфейс:
английский
Рейтинг:
Ваша оценка:
О программе
Что нового
Позволяет скрывать обновления драйверов для Windows 10
Системные требования
Поддерживаемые версии ОС:
Полезные ссылки
Как удалить, переустановить или скрыть обновления в Windows 10
Как отключить автоматическое обновление Windows 10
Как запретить Windows 10 обновлять драйвера
Подробное описание
Microsoft предлагает средство устранения неполадок «Show or hide updates» (Показать или скрыть обновления), которое позволяет скрывать обновления драйверов и предотвращать повторную установку до того, как станет доступна исправная версия.
Как временно отключить обновления драйвера
Портативное приложение wushowhide.diagcab для Windows 10 не требует установки – скачайте и запустите его. Чтобы скрыть обновление проблемного драйвера воспользуйтесь опцией Hide updates, чтобы восстановить обновление – Show hidden updates.
Оценка пользователей
Другие программы
Windows 10 Update Assistant Помощник по обновлению до новейшей версии Windows 10
O&O ShutUp10 Бесплатный антишпионский инструмент для ОС Windows 10
How to hide a Drive in Windows 10
If you are a Windows user, you would probably know about hiding or locking a folder or file which has confidential data. We generally, use some folder encryption software to do these tasks. But, if you have many such folders and files, it is not a good idea to lock each and every folder. A better option would be to move all such files and folders which you want to hide or do not want others to know about their existence, to some drive on your PC. Then, hide that entire drive so that it is not visible to anyone.
That hidden drive will not be seen in Windows File Explorer but can be accessed through a Command Prompt or by typing the drive letter in the address bar of Explorer. So, when someone uses your Windows PC, they do not know that there is such a drive existing in your PC and your confidential data is safe. This can be done in Windows 10/8/7/Vista. I will guide you through the steps to be followed in Windows 8.
Hide a Drive in Windows 10
There are 5 ways to hide a drive in Windows 10. It is through Disk Management, using Group Policy, through Windows Registry, or by using Diskpart command in CMD. We will see these ways step by step so that you can implement the same to hide a drive in Windows 10.
Hide Drive using Disk Management
Hide drive using Group Policy
Hide Drive using Windows Registry
Hide Drive using CMD
Hide Drive using free tool HideCalc.
1] Hide Drive using Disk Management
If you want to hide a drive in Windows 8 through Disk Management, you need to right-click on My Computer and then click Manage.
In Computer Management Console open Storage by double-clicking on it.
Now, double-click on Disk Management Snap-in.
Disk Management Console opens up, and you can see all drives of your PC.
Choose the drive which you want to hide and right-click on it. Choose ‘Change Letter and Paths’ and click on Remove button.
If it asks for confirmation, say ‘Yes’. Now, you cannot see the hidden drive in My Computer.
2] Hide drive using Group Policy
Run gpedit.msc and navigate to the following settings:
Double-click Hide these specified drives in My Computer and select Enabled.
From the drop-down menu, select the Drive you want to hide.
This policy setting allows you to hide these specified drives in My Computer. This policy setting allows you to remove the icons representing selected hard drives from My Computer and File Explorer. Also, the drive letters representing the selected drives do not appear in the standard Open dialog box. If you enable this policy setting, select a drive or combination of drives in the drop-down list. This policy setting removes the drive icons. Users can still gain access to drive contents by using other methods, such as by typing the path to a directory on the drive in the Map Network Drive dialog box, in the Run dialog box, or in a command window. Also, this policy setting does not prevent users from using programs to access these drives or their contents. And, it does not prevent users from using the Disk Management snap-in to view and change drive characteristics. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, all drives are displayed, or select the “Do not restrict drives” option in the drop-down list.
3] Hide Drive using Windows Registry
In this second way, we will use NoDrives registry key to hide a drive in Windows 8. As we add a key to the registry, I suggest you take the backup of your registry. Once it is done, proceed!
Press Windows Key+ R, type ‘regedit’ and hit Enter. The Registry Editor Console opens up. Navigate to the below path,
Here we are going to create a new DWORD value, so right-click on Explorer and choose New -> DWORD Value (32-bit).
Give the name as ‘NoDrives’ and double click on it, to change the properties. Now, the console opens where we need to enter values. In Value data, choose the one based on the drive you want to hide. Each drive letter has unique value and values are as below,
Choose the corresponding value for the drive and enter that value in ‘Value data’. Choose ‘Decimal’ for the Base section. As I want to hide, drive ‘G’, I am entering the value as ‘64’.
If you want to hide two drives, say for example ‘E’ and ‘G’, you can enter value one value as ’80’ (E = 16 and G = 64) and it hides both the drives.
Restart your computer and your drive in hidden now. If you are supposed to get the drive back, change the value to Zero, or you can even delete the ‘NoDrives’ registry key.
4] Hide Drive using CMD
Open an elevated command prompt, type Diskpart and hit Enter.
Type List Volume and hit Enter.
Now type select and the numeral against the letter of the Drive ( e.g. it could be G Drive), which you want to hide. For instance, it could be Select Volume 6 .
Hit Enter.
Finally, type Remove Letter G
Hit Enter.
You will see a message – Diskpart successfully removed the drive letter or mount point.
Show the hidden drive using CMD
Open an elevated command prompt, type Diskpart and hit Enter.
Type List Volume and hit Enter.
Now type select and the numeral against the letter of the Drive ( e.g., . it could be G Drive), which you want to hide. For instance, it could be Select Volume 6 .
Hit Enter.
Now type Assign Letter D and hit Enter.
This will show the drive in Explorer.
5] Hide Drive using free tool HideCalc
HideCalc is a free tool for Windows that lets you hide disk drives in Windows easily – and more! It allows you to:
Export to ADMX Group Policy templates
Export to ADM Group Policy Templates
Export for Kix Scripts.
Export for Powershell Scripts.
Export to a .REG file.
Hides Drives that you specify.
Prevents Drives that you specify. Some legacy applications file manager will undo the Hide Drive Setting, this stops access if it does.
Running HideCalc will not alter anything in your Registry. It is the data files it creates that will make changes when executed. Download it here.
These are the 5 ways you can hide a drive natively, in Windows 10.
How to hide an entire drive from prying eyes on Windows 10
On Windows 10, you can find a number of reasons to hide files you store on your computer. Typically, the easiest way to hide content is to use File Explorer or Command Prompt. However, if you’re dealing with a lot of files, it’s not ideal to hide the content individually. A more suitable solution would be to hide an entire drive to prevent other users from seeing your private files.
If you want to keep specific files or drives under wraps, Windows 10 lets you hide specific drives with at least three different tools, including using Disk Management to set a mount point and making the folder a hidden item or removing the drive letter. You can use the Registry to hide any drive you want manually, or the Local Group Policy editor to hide certain drives from your computer.
In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to hide an entire drive to prevent users from snooping into your files.
How to hide a drive using Disk Management
Using Disk Management, you can hide an entire drive by mounting a drive as a folder or removing the letter from the drive.
How to hide a drive using a mount point
The easiest way to prevent a drive from appearing in File Explorer is to mount it as a folder, instead of using a drive letter, and making it hidden.
To mount a drive as a folder and make it invisible, do the following:
Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut and select Disk Management.
Right-click the drive you want to hide and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.
Select the drive letter and click the Remove button.
Click the Add button.
Select the Mount in the following empty NTFS folder option.
Select the newly created folder and click OK.
Open File Explorer (Windows key + I).
Quick Tip: To keep the drive invisible, make sure in the View tab on File Explorer, the Hidden items option is clear.
Right-click the mount point, and select Properties.
On «Attributes,» check the Hidden option.
Select the Apply changes to this folder only option, as we’re just trying to hide the drive.
Click OK.
Click OK again.
Once you completed the steps, the drive will no longer appear in File Explorer, but you can still access its content by navigating the location using the mount point path (e.g., C:\secretDrive) in the File Explorer address bar or Command Prompt.
You can always revert the changes by doing the following:
Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut and select Disk Management.
Right-click the drive you want to hide and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.
Select the mount point and click the Remove button.
Click Yes to confirm.
Right-click the drive again and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.
Click the Add button.
Select the Assign the following drive letter option.
Select a new letter for the drive.
Click Apply.
Click OK.
How to hide a drive by removing the drive letter
Alternatively, you can remove the drive letter to hide files and folders you have on a secondary drive. However, this method will prevent anyone (including you) from accessing its content. You should use these steps to hide content you rarely use, such as backups.
Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut and select Disk Management.
Right-click the drive you want to hide and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.
Select the drive letter and click the Remove button.
Click Yes to confirm that you’re removing the drive letter.
After you have completed the steps, the entire drive will become invisible to all users.
When you need to access the files again, you can follow the same steps, but on step No. 3, select the Assign the following drive letter option and pick a new letter for the drive.
How to hide a drive using Registry
In this case, perhaps the best way to hide a particular drive on your computer would be using the Registry.
Warning: This is a friendly reminder to let you know that editing the registry is risky, and it can cause irreversible damage to your installation if you don’t do it correctly. It’s recommended to make a full backup of your PC before proceeding.
Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
Type regedit, and click OK to open the registry.
Browse the following path:
Right-click on the right side, select New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
On «Value data» enter the decimal number that represents the drive letter you want to hide. For the purpose of this guide, we’ll be using value 16, because we’re hiding the E: drive.
If you want to hide multiple drives, you’ll need to add the decimal numbers. For example, if you’re trying to hide drive D: and E:, you’ll need to add 8 + 16, which means that the value you need to enter is 24.
Quick Tip: You can use these decimal numbers as reference to hide specific drives: A: 1, B: 2, C: 4, D: 8, E: 16, F: 32, G: 64, H: 128, I: 256, J: 512, K: 1024, L: 2048, M: 4096, N: 8192, O: 16384, P: 32768, Q: 65536, R: 131072, S: 262144, T: 524288, U: 1048576, V: 2097152, W: 4194304, X: 8388608, Y: 16777216, Z: 33554432, ALL: 67108863.
Click OK.
Close the Registry.
Restart your computer to apply the new changes.
Once your computer rebooted, you’ll no longer see the drive listed in File Explorer. However, you’ll still be able to access the drive content by navigating the location using the drive path (e.g., E:) in the File Explorer address bar or Command Prompt.
At any time you can revert the changes by following the same steps, but on step No. 3, make sure to right-click and delete the NoDrives DWORD.
How to hide a drive using Group Policy
If you’re running Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise or Education, you can also use the Local Group Policy editor to hide specific drives. However, unlike the Registry, you’re only available to restrict a limited number of drive combinations.
To hide specific drives using Group Policy, do the following:
Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
Type gpedit.msc and click OK to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
Browse the following path:
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer
Double-click the Hide these specified drives in My Computer policy.
Under «Options,» select the drive combinations you want or select the Restrict all drives option from the drop-down menu.
Click Apply.
Click OK.
Once you completed the steps, the drives you specified will no longer appear in File Explorer without having to restart your computer. However, remember that you’re only removing the drive icons, you’ll still be able to access the drive content by navigating the location using the drive path (e.g., C:) in the File Explorer address bar or Command Prompt.
While using the Local Group Policy editor is very specific on the drives you can hide on Windows 10. It’s still a good option if you’re only trying to prevent users from messing around with files inside the C: drive.
It should be noted that there is a way to customize this policy to make more drive combination available, but it’s something aimed at enterprise networks, and it goes beyond the scope of this guide.
If you want to revert the changes, you can follow the same instructions mentioned above, but on step No. 5 select the Not Configure option.
Wrapping things up
The ability to hide drives on Windows 10 is only meant to keep users out of your private files and to protect specific drives from being misused. This doesn’t prevent users from using different methods to gain access your content inside the hidden drive.
If you store sensitive data on your device, and you don’t want that data to fall into the wrong hands — if it gets lost or stolen — you should be using BitLocker or another third-party tool to encrypt the entire drive.
While we’re focusing this guide on Windows 10, you can also use these instructions to hide specific drives on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.
More Windows 10 resources
For more help articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:
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